


A Tale of Crowns and Dragons

by minkaa, spleenessy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Dragons, Growing Up, M/M, Magic, Mentioned Super Junior, OT23 (NCT), Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29495883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minkaa/pseuds/minkaa, https://archiveofourown.org/users/spleenessy/pseuds/spleenessy
Summary: All Taeyong wanted in life were friends.Instead, he’s got people who want his head, and the crown placed on it.Johnny had everything, including a dragon.Yet the only thing he truly wanted, he couldn’t have it.But in the end, who will get the crown and the dragon?
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Lee Taeyong/Nakamoto Yuta, Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	1. Prologue - Taeil

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> We are Minkaa & Spleen, and we're happy to present you this fic today! It's a big project that we enjoy working on a lot, and we hope you'll like it!!! 
> 
> Don't forget to stan NCT for clear skin uwu

At nine years old, Taeil was a happy child. He was born in a noble family, his parents were nice, wealthy, and he had a lot of friends. 

For example Johnny, but who he rarely saw, for they weren’t from the same country. Though when they met, they always had fun together, even if Johnny was younger. He was always smiling and his jokes made Taeil laugh the hardest. Taeil rarely saw the other kid, for Johnny came from a land far far away, a land of desert and mountains, and they could therefore only see each other for big occasions. 

Just like today.

In the Kingdom of Dragons, a prince’s first birthday was a very important celebration for the royal family. Today, Prince Mark was going to get his dragon and so every influential ally was invited.

That’s why Taeil’s family had been traveling for days along with King Leeteuk, young prince Taeyong, and the newborn Jeno. His parents insisted he should make friends with Taeyong but the prince wasn’t the best company for he didn’t talk much. Or, at all. 

He used to, he was a pretty chatty kid even, until a few weeks prior. But he was also a child with immense responsibility and a power that was more of a curse than a blessing. Everyone knew that the Lees had the ability to control people with their voices, and it was a terrible power for a child to have, even if he was trained for it early on. 

Taeil had heard the story of why Taeyong didn’t talk thanks to the constant rumours that were spreading through the castle. 

Apparently, one day, Taeyong had been spending time alone with his little brother, no adults were around to check on them, and Jeno, being the baby he was, kept crying and crying, nothing seemed to calm him. Taeyong, who was only five years old, didn’t know any other way to calm the baby than repeating and repeating again “please, stop crying.” When the baby finally stopped crying, Taeyong’s happiness didn’t last, for he realised that if Jeno wasn’t crying anymore, he wanted to, his face distorted and his mouth still wild open. The crowned prince had used his power over his little brother, and when he realized this, he stopped talking in fear he would command someone else without wanting to. 

However, Taeil had learned not to listen to the rumours too much. All he knew was that Taeyong didn’t talk anymore, and Jeno didn’t cry anymore. And that was boring. How was he supposed to befriend a five years old kid who didn’t talk? There were other kids from the procession who could do it! For example, Jungwoo and Doyoung were barely one year older than Taeyong, and they, too, were from noble families. But to Taeil's dismay, the burden fell on him, because Doyoung and Jungwoo were considered too boisterous to handle the prince. 

Hopefully, Taeil wouldn’t have to deal with Taeyong once they’d arrive at the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, and he would be able to spend time with Johnny. 

  
  


The Dragon Kingdom’s capital was an impressive sight for Taeil. The whole city was sculpted in black rocks, volcanic stones his parents explained - made from lava, how cool was that!- the air was permeated with smells of spices and grilled meat. Also, three Dragons were flying in the sky. 

This city was just so incredible, Taeil hoped he could live there with Johnny someday. 

Taeil watched the dragons for a good half of their travel through the city. It wasn’t a rare sight -at least not rarer than seeing Johnny - but it was still impressive. One was much bigger than the others, and a vibrant red: it was King Siwon’s dragon (Johnny’s father); another, almost as big but all white, was Jessica’s dragon, King’s sister - and beside them, a lot smaller because he was a lot younger, a dark gray dragon: Johnny’s.    
Taeil couldn’t help the smile on his face.   
Taeyong, beside Taeil, didn’t seem to share his euphory. If he was looking at the dragon with big eyes, totally impressed - it was probably the first time he ever saw a dragon - he seemed afraid of them, his whole body shaking, and he brought himself closer to Taeil to find some comfort. 

“Don’t worry,” Taeil said with a reassuring tone, “they will never hurt you.” 

Taeyong didn’t seem very convinced, he was still shaking when they reached the front door of the castle despite the dragons having disappeared from their sight already. 

He was such a scaredy-cat! With this constant pout on his face and those big shiny eyes! Taeil hated it.

  
  


There was a parade waiting for them. Well, obviously not for Taeil and his parents specifically, but for king Leeteuk and his royal family. An orchestra started playing when the convoy got into the castle. Taeil was overjoyed. 

That’s the moment his mother chose to remind him of his role and status in the court. He was a noble’s son, he had to know his place and how to address people. If a slip or two could be allowed in his natal country, they were in another realm, and a misplaced word could start a war. Taeil didn’t believe he would be the cause of any war, and he didn’t like that he had to call Johnny “Your Highness”. Johnny wasn’t high, he was too young to fly on his dragon, and Taeil was taller than him. 

Meeting the Seo family was a nightmare for Taeil. Staying in place wasn’t something he was fond of, nor was he good with good manners. He was considered too old not to know how to behave properly, especially when the other children - all younger than him - did. Obviously, it was expected from prince Taeyong: he had been educated for these moments, but from Doyoung and Jungwoo, it was still a surprise. 

Fortunately, there was always Yuta to make a mess, and trip in front of king Siwon, despite being the son of a king and heir to the West Kingdom. Although he was only the bastard child of king Heechul. 

Fortunately, soon enough adults were busy talking together, and kids could enjoy playing around the palace. Under supervision, of course, followed everywhere by a bunch of nannies. Taeil wasn’t used to nannies, his parents tended to let him wander alone now that he was nine years old and mature enough not to get himself in a stupid or dangerous situation. At least when he was alone. 

But it was different when he was in the company of no less than four princes. 

Well, of course, Mark was never out of the nannies’ sight, he was only one year old, and pretty quick on his four legs, already following Johnny everywhere like the admirative little brother he was.    
  


The children precipitated to the gardens, where they could play warriors as much as they wanted, with their small wooden swords. Taeil wasn’t a good fighter, but against two seven years olds, he managed. Even if Yuta and Johnny were trained and pretty good with a sword - for their age at least - Taeil had a fair fight with them. Jungwoo and Doyoung were not too bad themselves, but they tended to fight against each other, all the time, with or without a sword, with or without a pretext. In the end, they were always yelling. 

“Why are you always playing a savage! That’s boring! And you always win!” Doyoung complained. 

“Because they’re the best fighters, my father said!” Jungwoo answered.

Jungwoo’s father was King Lee’s spymaster, and he knew pretty much everything there was to know, about the world, and wars, and things Taeil didn’t quite understand. Doyoung, who loved to know everything better than anyone, and spent days at the royal library, was probably jealous of that too. 

“Pfff… No one has ever seen a savage. Your father is lying.” 

They all knew it was a lie, but Doyoung didn’t like to be wrong. 

Meanwhile, Jaehyun was throwing his sword around in an attempt to look like a fighter even though he didn’t know anything about fighting yet. He tried to join the conversation: “We are the best warriors, we have dragons!”   
Immediately, Jaehyun’s dragon came to his side. The dragon was still a babyand was smaller than Taeil. It did not even breathe fire yet, which was a pretty good thing, baby dragons were known for being clumsy, and baby Jaehyuns too. 

“Dragons are powerful alright, but without them, you’re just meh. The West Kingdom has the most powerful army!” 

Of course, Yuta had to brag about his own kingdom.

They argued for a while, impersonating legendary fighters of their own realm in a playful reenactment. Only Taeyong didn’t participate. He spent the whole afternoon under the shadow of a tree, playing quietly with Mark. 

  
  


Dinner that night was a real feast. The amount of food and drinks was phenomenal. Taeil was pretty sure there was magic involved because it seemed like the coming and going of the servants was never-ending. He wanted to leave the table, but his parents had been really strict about the fact he had to stay until Mark was sent to bed. Leaving before the birthday boy would be a profound disrespect.

At least, Taeil was at the same table as the other kids, so he wasn’t alone between adults discussing boring stuff. It had been the case numerous times before. But for now, he was sitting between Taeyong and Johnny, and Yuta was taking care of talking for two with the younger prince. Yuta liked to talk, or more like show off, particularly to a very gullible Taeyong. In Yuta’s defense, he was pretty good with the prince, making sure he ate well and was entertained. They were, after all, engaged to each other, and Yuta took a lot of pride in being prince Taeyong’s future husband. Yuta liked to be the best in everything he could.    
Taeil didn’t mind, because that meant he could have fun with Johnny without being worried about the young prince. 

“I can’t believe your dragon is so big already!” Taeil exclaimed, a beaming smile on his face that Johnny soon mirrored. 

“I can’t either! The dragon master said he might grow even bigger than my father’s! And did you see? He’s so dark, he loves to hide in the shadow! Sometimes we make fun of the snobbish lords together, we give them a good scare!”

Both exploded in laughter. Johnny really was the funniest guy around. 

“I want to do that too!” Taeil said.

Johnny was fun. Dinner was fun. Taeil had missed having all his friends around. He was usually a lot more solitary, because there weren't many kids his age around king Leeteuk’s castle, or they just couldn’t spend time together because of their different social ranks. What a bummer! However, a royal ceremony was always a good occasion for him to cut that monotony: he would just spend days playing with his friends and having tons of fun.

“Heechul isn’t drinking wine, suspicious,” said someone near them. 

Taeil looked at Yuta’s father, and he saw that the king only had a glass of water in front of him. It was indeed weird: Heechul was known for his love for good beverages, and it was unusual of him to not drink some. Taeil shrugged. Maybe it was poisoned. 

“Don’t drink alcohol, your highness, it’s poisonous,” he said to Taeyong.

Taeyong looked at his orange juice with a weird look, then pouted as he spilled it on the floor. Taeil wanted to sigh, and Johnny, at his side, exploded in laughter. 

“Hey! Why did you say that to him?” whined Doyoung, “You know he’s dumb, and now he’s going to cry and we’re going to be punished!” 

Taeil ignored the younger. It was Taeyong’s fault for not knowing the difference between alcohol and orange juice, and if he were to cry, it would be because of Doyoung’s harsh words anyway. 

  
  


The next day was the most important day of the festivities. If the previous one had been about welcoming people into the palace and celebrating Mark’s anniversary with dinner, today was the reason so many people were coming in the first place.

There were two fundamental days in the life of the Royal family members of the Kingdom of Dragons, and they both concerned the bond with their dragons. 

The decisive bond was forged on their thirteenth birthday with a secret ceremony that would take place in the secrecy of the royal castle. It was all really mysterious for Taeil, but he knew that it allowed the prince to create a magical link between him and his dragon that would make it obey his master and protect him no matter what. 

However, the first ceremony was just as important. Performed for the prince’s first birthday, a dragon’s egg was chosen, brought back from the southern mountains, specifically for the royal family. The egg would hatch in front of the one-year-old prince, who therefore would become the first person the dragon ever saw. The bond created at this moment would last for their entire life. 

Taeil was really curious to see how it would go for Mark. He was not present at Jaehyun’s ceremony and Taeil wasn’t sure he would have remembered it anyway, he was too young at the time. Today, however, was going to be a memorable moment. 

The event took place at the center of the city, in a wide place where a stage had been installed so that everyone could see the ceremony proceedings. The crowd was overjoyed, and people were rushing to get the best seat. Because they were royals, Taeyong, Johnny, Jaehyun and Yuta and their families had special chairs just for them, at the front row. Except that Taeil didn’t see Yuta, and he wondered if he was late again. 

Taeil didn’t have to wait too long before feeling two small arms around his waist. 

“Father said I can stay with you !” Yuta said behind Taeil, voice high with excitation.

“Why would you be with us when you have a chair in the front row?” Jungwoo asked with a pout. 

“Because I’m not allowed to talk there, and it’s boring.”

Even though Yuta was complaining, he had a bright smile on his face. He seemed genuinely happy to spend time with people his age. 

“Can I take your place then?” Doyoung asked. 

Taeil smiled at the joke. Of course, Doyoung would never be allowed to sit with the royals. He wasn't part of their family. 

Taeil suddenly noticed that, actually, there wasn’t even a chair for Yuta to sit on in the front row. As if he had never been expected there. Weird, Taeil thought. Maybe the seat had just been taken away when Yuta decided not to join.   
Taeil didn’t have time to ponder on this. Soon, a big turquoise egg was brought on the stage by four knights in full armor, and Mark, who was held by his father until then, was left sitting beside it. 

The toddler was immediately intrigued by the egg, which was bigger than him, and he touched as carefully as a child his age could.

King Siwon stepped out of the stage and, of course, it left Mark confused. He tried to follow his father on his four tiny legs, which made the crowd laugh. Taeil found it cute, the way the king spent a good ten minutes trying to get Mark to stay on stage. 

Eventually, Mark got more interested in the dragon egg than in his father, and that’s when one of King Siwon’s counselors stepped on the stage, a few feet away from the baby and the egg. He was wearing a long, dark purple cape, and his hood hid half his face. Taeil recognized his outfit to be from the Grand Order, the assembly that knew the roots of magic and all of its mysterious secrets. 

Even though magic was common, most people didn’t know much about how it worked. Taeil was curious about it, but the members of the Grand Order were too quiet, too detached, and were also a little too scary for him.

Taeil had never really thought about how a dragon and a mere human could be so attached to each other, and he had naively supposed it had to do with blood, but now that he was reflecting on it, it was actually logical that magic was involved. 

The mage started whispering things Taeil couldn’t hear from where he was standing, but he didn’t think it was in a language he could comprehend anyway. A few minutes passed where nothing happened when, suddenly, the egg started to crack.

The crowd was holding its breath as the baby dragon slowly got out of his shell, under Mark’s dazzled look. When it noticed the baby, Taeil tried to get the best view of what was happening, reaching out on his tiptoe to see more of the magical scene. Taeil knew about stories of humans unable to bond with their dragon at first sight, and how they ended up as breakfast for the creature. He truly hoped that the way the animal was sniffing Mark was not a way of smelling if he was edible. 

Mark, however, didn’t seem worried at all and let out little babblings of joy, as if the dragon was his new friend. He had seen more dragons in his life than the dragon had seen humans, as it was just born. Taeil tensed when he saw Mark suddenly get on two legs, and tried to hug the creature. The dragon didn’t let himself get caught too easily, but soon enough, it was in Mark’s arms, licking his face. 

The crowd cheered, shouts of joy filling the place. Taeil saw that Siwon had the biggest smile on his face as he went to his son and his dragon. Taeil clapped excitedly and gave a look to his friends. Doyoung and Jungwoo had the same surprised face, and Yuta was shouting congratulations to Mark. 

At this moment, Taeil felt only happiness. 

  
The effervescence of the event didn’t go down for the whole afternoon. People didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day. When the royals joined them Taeyong ran toward Yuta who caught him in his arms. He had a smile on his face that was saying all about how he had been enchanted by the ceremony. 

Johnny walked slower as he was holding Mark in his arms, Mark who was giggling at the dragon following them. It was like he couldn’t get his eyes off his new friend. Taeil got curious at how it felt to be bonded to a dragon. He’d ask Johnny later. 

Their games until dinner consisted mainly of being a dragon's owner and dragons. Jaehyun mimicked them perfectly, and it seemed like Johnny was a perfect mount for Jungwoo. Yuta was too fast and forgot multiple times he was supposed to keep Doyoung on his back. He was a wilder type of dragon. 

Taeyong wasn't part of this chaos: as usual, he preferred staying a little bit on the side, playing with Mark and his new dragon. He seemed fascinated by the creature, which was fortunate for Taeil, because he didn’t want to be bothered by the prince. 

At some point, the kings came to see their kids play, and Siwon ordered a nurse to take Mark away for his afternoon nap. Taeyong seemed a little sad that his two friends had to leave, but he didn’t protest. It would have been surprising if he did. 

However, Taeil noticed that king Leeteuk seemed to sense that his son was disappointed. 

“You liked the dragon, Taeyong dear?” Leeteuk asked, “Would you like to have your own?” 

Taeyong looked at his father with a surprised expression on his face, eyes as big as saucers. Taeil frowned: Taeyong knew he couldn’t have one, right? Dragons were only destined to the Royal family, weren’t they? 

Leeteuk didn’t say anything else. Well, Taeil thought, there was probably not much to dwell on. The king would probably buy yet another plushie for his son, as Taeil knew the prince already had too much. Taeyong was a spoiled little thing. 

“You should play with the others, Taeyong,” king Leeteuk eventually said, “Make good friends with Jaehyun, would you?” 

It sounded more like an order than a question, but king Leeteuk tended to do that. He liked things to go his way and controlled his power, not like his son, or so the rumors said. These ones, Taeil hoped they were true. 

The second the kings left, the kids were back to playing. This time, pushed by his father's words, Taeyong joined them. He was pretty unsure, not used to being in large groups of friends, he was more the lonely type. But he was trying so hard. It was kind of cute.

Still, his presence was weird: Taeyong didn’t understand most of the games they were playing, he was awkward, and the fact that he didn’t talk made it even more difficult for him to fit in. Taeil was used to his antics, as were Doyoung, Jungwoo, and Yuta, Johnny was a good soul, and he knew better than to make someone as important as another crowned prince feel rejected. 

But then, there was Jaehyun.

Jaehyun was young. The youngest in their small group and all he knew was that there was a stranger in their group and that this stranger didn’t know how to play. 

“I don’t want to play with him anymore,” he complained after a while, “he’s not fun at all!”

His high-pitched voice was piercing through the garden, he was making a total fuss. 

“Jaehyun,” Johnny tried, “Taeyong is our friend, and he is allowed to play as much as everyone else…”

“No! I don’t want him to! He’s just a freak” 

When he heard that, Taeyong’s cheeks immediately became wet with tears. Jaehyun didn’t care, and he kept on with his complaints.

“He doesn’t even talk! Why doesn’t he talk?” 

That was just too much for Taeyong, who ran away from them. 

Johnny immediately lectured Jaehyun about his behaviour and, next to them, Taeil saw that Doyoung looked exasperated. Taeil understood him because he, too, thought that Taeyong was a crybaby, but on the other hand, he knew that Jaehyun had been very mean and that his behavior was inappropriate. That’s what Jungwoo explained to Doyoung, which led to them arguing, again. 

In the end, only Yuta went after the crying prince, which was predictable: it seemed like Yuta was the only one whose words soothed Taeyong. With anyone else, it took hours to bring the prince back to a quiet mood, but Yuta only needed a few minutes, and a hug and Taeyong was okay again - which was frankly weird because most of Yuta’s words were crap, and when it wasn’t blatant lies, it was over-exaggeration. Maybe that was why it worked, but as for him, Taeil wasn’t going to lie to anyone to make them feel better - without mentioning the fact that he wasn’t good at lying, and even worse at making up incredible stories anyway. Yuta, he was a good storyteller.

  
  


On the third day, dinner was much less phenomenal than it had been the two days prior, but impressive nonetheless. As usual, Taeil was sitting beside Johnny, and they were discussing something very important: who was going to be the target of their next joke. They had put itching powder in Jungwoo’s clothes in the morning, which had been extra funny, but then the boy got his revenge when he sneaked a snake’s shed in Johnny’s chamber. Johnny had thought a real snake had made his way in his bed. He had screamed so loudly everyone in the castle had heard him. 

Now they could either get revenge on Jungwoo and start a prank-war, or find another target. 

As they were debating the idea, Heechul got up and cleared his voice to get everyone’s attention. 

“Since everyone is here, I would like to make an important announcement,” he started, voice sweet like honey and a gentle smile on his lips. 

Taeil had no idea what Heechul wanted to say, and Yuta, on the opposite side of the table, didn’t seem to know either. 

“I want to share the wonderful news with you: the upcoming birth of the Na Kingdom’s heir!”

The crowd immediately clapped loudly, and both King Leeteuk and King Siwon raised their glass, smiles on their faces. 

But Taeil didn’t understand. 

“Isn’t Yuta already the heir of the Na Kingdom?” He asked Johnny, “I thought there could only be one.”

Johnny shrugged, he didn’t know either. They both turned to their friends, Yuta looked bewildered. 

“Oh, young Lord,” a nanny addressed Taeil, “Lord Yuta knew his titles were just temporary, until the birth of…” she stopped for a moment, probably trying to find the right terms, “someone born from marriage.” 

“What’s going to happen to him then ?” Taeil asked, confused. 

Taeil was probably the only one to realize it for now, but Yuta losing his titles would have a lot of consequences.

“Isn’t he going to marry Taeyong anyway? It doesn’t matter if he’s the heir, does it?” Johnny asked.

“I’m afraid it won’t happen, your highness,” the nanny explained, “Prince Taeyong and Yuta’s engagement was never made official, and with Yuta’s new status, or lack of… Well, let’s hope Yuta will still be allowed to be your friend.”

It sounded too harsh, and too sudden, especially in their little crowd of friends. Politics were for adults, and the other kids probably didn’t understand what was happening. 

But Yuta did. He stood up from his seat and started walking away. Slowly at first, he acted detached, probably thanks to years of being taught not to show his feelings - if his education was anything like Taeyong’s, or any prince Taeil knew. Then tears started to run down his cheeks. The next second he was on four legs, transforming into a lion cub and running away.

Taeyong stood up too, probably ready to run after Yuta to try to console him just the way he did for him, but he was stopped before he could walk more than a few steps. Taeil saw king Leeteuk stand behind Taeyong, and he put a hand on his shoulder.

“Taeyong, dear, where are you going?” king Leeteuk asked.

Taeyong looked at him with his big sad eyes, then looked at the door Yuta had just left by. He pointed it to his father. The King downright ignored his son and gave him a smile so fake that Taeil shivered.    
“Let’s congratulate King Heechul,” he said, “you can play later.” 

His tone was gentle, but it was clear that he wouldn’t allow any protest from his son. Taeyong being the good kid he was, didn’t show any. 

  
  


The rest of their stay at the castle was plain weird. Yuta stayed away from all of them, even though only Taeyong had been told not to talk to him. The ex-prince had to stay with the servants now, and from what Taeil could see, he didn’t seem to smile anymore. It broke Taeil’s heart, even if he wasn’t that close to Yuta. Taeil ended up being glad their trip was coming to an end. The atmosphere between them was different. King Heechul’s announcement was all they were talking about. The nurses tried to crack some jokes to lighten up their mood, but every time they looked at Yuta, they stopped smiling. It was hard being happy when their friend was not allowed to. 

Taeil saw how Taeyong kept on watching Yuta from afar until one adult or another would look at him, and he would immediately lower his head in shame. 

Taeyong probably had it worse than them, Taeil thought. Yuta was his fiancé until the day before, and even if Taeil didn’t think that they were in love - they were too young to understand that feeling - they were very close. Yuta was the only one that didn’t consider Taeyong differently because he didn’t talk, always trying to take care of him, making him smile. Taeil supposed that Yuta felt compelled to, as a duty, since he had been asked to be the perfect fiancé for the prince. He had tried his best to do so, his good-natured personality helping a lot. But Taeil knew Yuta had a lot of friends besides Taeyong, he was easy to be around. For him, losing Taeyong was probably the same as losing any of his friends. 

Taeyong only had Yuta, and not being allowed to talk to him anymore was probably dreadful, especially after Jaehyun’s tantrum the day prior. 

What a mess, Taeil thought.

He found himself being eager to leave. At least, at home, everything would set back into their usual routine, and though life was going to be more boring, at least it would be less sad. At home, not seeing Yuta wouldn’t be weird, because he wasn’t usually around. 

Taeil just wanted to forget that day, was that too much to ask? 

Thus, on the day of his departure, he ran everywhere around the castle to help his parents pack their luggage to keep himself busy. 

He was looking for a snack when he ended up in front of a poorly closed door, eavesdropping accidentally on a conversation. At least their voice tone suggested it was serious. He even recognized one of the voices as the king’s. 

“It’s the best for both our families,” king Leeteuk was pressing. 

“Oh, I’m sure this is the best for  _ you _ ,” answered a female voice that Taeil didn’t recognize, but it sounded familiar, “I’m just not sure this is the best for  _ me _ .”

“Think about your son, he’ll become one of the most important people in the realm, and you’ll have a lot more power and recognition than you will ever have by staying here, in your brother’s shadow.” 

Silence. 

“Let me think about it, your highness. I’ll let you know when my decision is taken.”

Then Taeil heard steps coming his way. He flew away before he could be seen. He wondered what all of this was about. He supposed that if it was important, he'd been informed at some point. 

He went back to help his parents. 

The procession left in the following hours. Taeil just had enough time to say goodbye to his friends. He gave the longest hug to Johnny. He couldn’t wait to see him again, and he hoped everything would be better next time. 


	2. Johnny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny is thirteen and it's time for him to bond with his dragon, at last. It's also a great occasion to meet with old friends.

In the Kingdom of Dragons, adulthood was a status that every boy and every girl had to reach through a defined ritual. The ritual was the same for everyone but the royal family, which held a closed and very secretive ceremony in the privacy of the castle. The secret of this ritual was well kept by the Seo family, which reigned over the Kingdom of Dragons for centuries, and passed on to every heir during said ceremony.

As the first born of the king, heir to the throne and guarantor of the continuity of the Seo Dynasty, Johnny was both very excited and stressed about his coming-of-age ceremony. He was only thirteen, but he felt that this day was the beginning of everything that truly mattered in his life: his family, his responsibilities, his honor. Johnny was particularly proud, and happy, as boys are when they discover that their parents are throwing a big party for their birthday. It didn’t matter that the party took place in the secret of their castle, out of sight so no spy could learn about the secret ritual. At the end of the day, he could still enjoy the company of his friends, for some had come a long way to assist the public part of the ceremonial process: when they had dinner altogether, and Johnny would get presents from everyone.

But before dinner and meeting with his friends, before the most pleasant part of the day, Johnny had to go through the ritual.

He had been told about it since he was a little kid, and today he was becoming a man. He knew everything about the steps he would go through, about the words he would have to say, the secrets he would have to swear. And he knew everything about his dragon.

Johnny’s dragon was not an adult yet, but it was already big. Big enough to hide the sun from the city with his dark grey scales when he flew over the houses and around the castle. Johnny couldn’t wait to name it. He had thought about it for months, asking for advice to his father, Siwon, whose dragon was beautiful and powerful. Johnny wanted to resemble his father in everything he was doing, he wanted to make him proud.

The ceremony went smoothly. Only the eminent members of the Seo finally were allowed to witness the ritual, so Johnny walked toward his dragon under the gaze of his little brother Mark, his cousin Jaehyun, and their parents. They were the only remaining members of the Seo dynasty, as the family was not known to be very open minded about matrimonial alliances, there weren’t many children, and there weren’t many weddings. Johnny knew that, one day, he would have to marry someone, and his time would come when he would have to give an heir to the throne, like his father did before him, and his grand-father too. But for now, Johnny was only focused on his dragon, and on the name he was going to give it.

“Orage.”

The dragon lowered his head to let Johnny touch him, and when Johnny brushed his fingers over the smooth scales, he shivered. He could  _ feel  _ the dragon, and his magic. And both were now  _ his _ .

At first, Johnny had been afraid of the ceremony. Now he was only filled with pride and joy. Orage was now  _ his  _ dragon, and he would ride him his whole life. Their bond was unbreakable, stronger than metal, nothing but death could break it. Whatever Orage would feel, Johnny would feel it too, and whatever happened to him, his dragon would be aware of it as well. They were connected through life, for ever.

This was both exciting and scary, yet Johnny remained unbothered when his father joined him, holding a beverage in his hands that Johnny knew was red wine. Johnny didn’t back up and accepted the cup. It embodied the bond he had just made with his dragon and was said to have some magical properties as well - the way it was prepared was kept secret by the head of the family. Johnny didn’t hesitate before drinking from it.

The wine tasted weird, but he tried not to frown. He drank the whole cup and gave it back to his father, who smiled at him. Johnny smiled back but made sure to be very serious still as the ceremony was not exactly finished. He still had to greet every member of his family, and then exchange blood with his dragon, for the pact between them to be finally effective. He was confident about the whole thing, but his hands would not stop trembling and he had to focus not to miss the spot of skin he had to cut in his hand.

The rest of the ritual went smoothly. Johnny greated his father again, then his mother, then his aunt Jessica who smiled at him, too. Her husband was not allowed to assist the show as he was part of the family only by matrimonial alliance and not blood. But his son was there: Jaehyun smiled brightly at Johnny and the two hugged tightly. Johnny loved his cousin very much and had been very happy to learn that he was allowed to be there today, with him, for the most important day in his life.

At last, Johnny turned to the last born of the Seo family. Mark’s smile was missing a tooth but he was cheerful all the same.

“I can’t wait to be like you!” said Mark, and he was immediately shushed by his mother. But Mark didn’t lose his smile and Johnny smiled back and patted him gently on the head.

And then, for the last time, he was in front of his dragon. Orage looked at him and Johnny felt like he was reading his mind. Carefully, he caressed the scales of his neck, from his head to where his big and beautiful wings were emerging. Johnny kept his hand on Orage’s skin, and he jumped on the back of the dragon. Orage didn’t even shudder.

Johnny held him by the neck, as it was required for the ceremony - most of the time they would use a bridle and a saddle, which allowed to ride more safely on the back of the powerful creature, but the ritual was made to show that Seo heirs were able to control their dragon without any help. So Johnny did as he was supposed to and bent over Orage’s neck to whisper to him.

“Fly,” he said, and upon them the roof opened and the light poured into the room. Orage snorted and, for a second, Johnny thought he was not going to obey him. It would have been a disgrace, and a sign from the gods that he was not worthy of his status. Johnny felt a rush of panic overcome him, but immediately after, Orage took a step forward. And then another. And then Johnny was leaving the room, flying, soon up in the sky and under the vibrant sun. Johnny didn’t even shiver at the low temperature, it was winter after all, because the adrenaline kept him warm.

Johnny looked down as Orage was flying in circles over the castle, and the city, so high in the sky that everything seemed very small from their point of view. Johnny could not help the big smile on his face, and he felt like screaming his joy to the world. He did it: he passed the ritual, he was now an accomplished adult. It was the best day of his life.

Johnny knew he had to go down quickly because the last part of the ceremony was still waiting for him, but he wanted to enjoy a little bit of his time up in the air. He made Orage fly over the castle but not land, and he heard the screams and applause of the crowd under him. They were chanting his name and Johnny had never been so happy in his life.

Johnny eventually decided to land, and he jumped off Orage’s back under the cheerings of the public. His coming-of-age ceremony was an event for the whole kingdom and people from the most distant regions of the country had come all the way to see him. Most of them were peasants, who came to see their crowned prince maybe for the first and last time in their life. They would then enjoy the festivities in the city for three days and three nights, before going back to their daily life in the countryside.

Johnny walked through the crowd which opened before him and formed a way from the place where he had left Orage to the entrance of the castle. Inside, his family and all their distinguished guests were waiting for him to finally celebrate together. He had had to learn every name of every noble that was invited that day, and so he knew perfectly who was going to greet him when he would enter the reception room of the castle. Then there would be a dinner, a party, and Johnny was very happy to know he would meet his friends at last. 

All the nobles were waiting for him inside, and Johnny, head up and pride filling his chest, walked through them like he was king already. He saw the way some were looking at him, with admiration, and he couldn’t help the smile. Being a crowned prince was something, being the crowned prince of the Kingdom of Dragons was another.

Johnny walked toward his father, who was waiting for him at the end of the room. Among the guests, Johnny recognized some familiar faces, some he had not seen in years. The white hair of Taeyong and his little brother Jeno were outstanding in this crowd of dark haired people. Johnny and Taeyong exchanged a look, but not a smile.

Johnny also recognized other people: there was Yuta, standing at the opposite of Taeyong, but Johnny didn’t catch his gaze because the bastard prince had his eyes on one person only. Next to Yuta, Jaemin was only a kid, and the crown he was forced to wear as the heir of his kingdom seemed too big for his little head. 

Johnny had the time to see Doyoung and Jungwoo, behind Taeyong, just before he reached his father and had to bow in front of him. When he did, everyone did as well, other rulers included, and Johnny couldn’t help but be satisfied to know that in this moment, he was already at the same level as a king.

“Rise, my son.” Siwon said, and with Johnny, everyone stood up as well. 

“I am pleased to announce that you have now completed the ritual. You are the worthy heir of the Kingdom of Dragons.”

Johnny smiled, and his father put his hands on his shoulders before smiling back.

“I’m proud of you,” King Siwon said, and Johnny felt something warm and nice growing in his chest, something stronger than pride. His smile widened. 

Then, he turned to face the crowd and Siwon, a hand on his shoulder still, announced:

“Please welcome my son, your future king.”

The crowd cheered. Johnny had never felt so happy in his life.

After the ceremony and the formal salutations that Johnny owned to all the kings and queens present in the room, he was allowed to join his cousin and their old friends. Jaehyun was discussing something with Taeyong when Johnny came closer to them and they immediately stopped talking. Johnny was about to ask them what they were talking about when Mark suddenly appeared and almost jumped into his arms. Johnny caught him in a laugh.

“Hyung! That was so cool! You were flying so high! I thought you were going to do a flip! Why didn’t you do a flip?”

“Because your brother is a coward,” said Jaehyun with a smirk. Johnny bumped his shoulder to make him shut up.

“You’ll see when you’ll have to ride a dragon without a saddle, you won’t be laughing anymore,” Johnny warned his cousin, who only shrugged.

“I’ll do it!” said Mark, “I’ll do a flip for my coming-of-age ceremony!”

The others only laughed at him, except for Taeyong, who barely smiled. Johnny wondered if the prince felt sick: he did not talk much, and it had always been like that, but he seemed particularly ill-at-ease at the moment and Johnny felt like he was hiding something. He didn’t have the time to ask him about it because Jaemin joined them and immediately bowed before Johnny.

“Congratulations, prince Johnny, my father sends his best regards to you and your family, and… he also sends prosperity, and, uh…”

Johnny smiled. Jaemin was losing his words, probably because he had learnt what he was supposed to say to him by heart, and his nervosity made him forget half of it. Johnny saw him blush when Yuta scolded him a little for being so clumsy.

“Be respectful to your elders,” Yuta said, giving a look to Taeyong that Johnny did not miss.

“And you to your prince.”

Johnny turned around to see Doyoung standing right next to Taeyong. He was looking at Yuta with such contempt that it was hard not to notice it. Years ago, Johnny would have been shocked to hear Doyoung, a mere noble, talking so informally to Yuta. But since Yuta had been deprived of his rights to the throne of the Na Kingdom, he was from no upper class than Doyoung and now they were not even equal in terms of social status for Doyoung was the son of one of the most powerful families in the Hviska Kingdom, while Yuta would only inherit a small land of no real interest. 

They all knew about it, but it still felt weird to Johnny who had always seen Yuta as his equal. Now he had to keep in mind that only Jaemin was destined to the throne.

Hopefully, the strange atmosphere that was starting to make Johnny feel uncomfortable was dismissed by the arrival of Jeno, who immediately joined his brother and whined:

“Hyung, there are weird people around Father, they scare me!”

Johnny immediately looked at where king Leeteuk stood, and he saw what scared Jeno: three silhouettes were next to him, speaking quietly. They were all dressed in long, dark purple capes that Johnny recognized as the Grand Order’s. Johnny couldn’t see the face of two of them, but the third person was facing him, smaller than the two others, and Johnny frowned because he was almost sure that he knew that face.

“Hey… isn’t that… Taeil?” Jaehyun asked.

Johnny’s heart missed a beat.

It was, indeed, Taeil. His brown hair was cut short and his face was no longer the one of a child, but his eyes were still that deep brown Johnny always found very pretty. 

He kind of looked pretty overall, Johnny thought for a second, before realizing that Taeil was looking back at him. Johnny felt immediately uncomfortable, and was about to lower his gaze, when he remembered that he had no reason to do so: he was a prince.

So Johnny stood proud and didn’t bow his head.

Apparently, he was not the only one surprised by Taeil's presence. Next to him, his friends also wondered what had happened to the young boy they all knew from their childhood. 

“He looks… changed,” Jaehyun said.

“Who is that?” Jaemin asked, curious. Johnny remembered that the young prince was not even born the last time they had all seen each other.

“Jaemin, your manners,” Yuta scolded him again, but Jaemin only pouted, asking for an answer still.

“He’s Johnny’s friend,” Jaehyun explained.

Johnny snorted, which made Jaehyun smile.

“That’s what you told me last time we talked about him-” Jaehyun started.

“Yeah, yeah,” Johnny cut him, he didn’t want to dwell on the subject of Taeil with his cousin and the others. “I’m going to greet him properly,” he said, and didn’t listen to the others.

Johnny respectfully waited for King Leeteuk to finish his conversation with the Grand Order members. Johnny always thought that they looked a bit scary, or at least disturbing, and he was really starting to wonder what Taeil was doing with them. He’ll have to ask him directly.

Taeil didn’t send him any other look but Johnny knew that he had noticed his presence. Once they were finished with King Leeteuk, the two Grand Order members turned to him and bowed respectfully, greeted him the way they should, and Johnny welcomed their salutations with honour, just as he had been told to and was doing with everyone.

“May I request a conversation with Taeil?” he asked the elderly man who seemed to be in charge.

Johnny saw how Taeil tensed, but tried to not be too surprised. Maybe his friend was just not accustomed to their new statutes. They used to talk to each other without any formality in their speech whatsoever, and it had felt weird for Johnny too, the first time he had to ask Mark to pay him his respect.

The elderly man looked at Johnny and bowed his head respectfully before answering:

“Unfortunately, your highness, young Taeil is currently undergoing his rite of passage. He cannot speak.” 

Johnny frowned. He wasn’t sure he understood what the man just said. He gave a look to Taeil who seemed to not want to meet his eyes anymore. Was he avoiding him?

“I apologize, I don’t understand,” Johnny said, his eyes still focused on Taeil.

Now that he was closer to him, he could see how he had changed. Taeil seemed… not tired, but different for sure. The spark of joy Johnny was used to see in his eyes had completely disappeared. His face was serious, his brows furrowed, his look cold. Johnny shivered.

“Taeil is soon to be entirely part of our order,” explained the elder, “but before that he needs to complete a ritual which includes a vow of silence.”

Johnny blinked.

A vow of silence?

He didn’t know the members of the Grand Order had to go through such a thing. He gave another, vain look to Taeil. Why did he decide to join such a strict and curious organization? If Johnny remembered correctly, Taeil had always found them disturbing and they had joked a lot about it back when they were just kids. What made him change his point of view on the matter?

“Why,” said the elderly man, “if you wish to talk to him, you may. He is not allowed to answer you however.”

There was no amusement in his tone, yet Johnny couldn’t help but feel like he was mocking him. He gave one last look to Taeil who finally looked back at him. For a second there, Johnny thought Taeil was going to smile at him, and say something.

But he didn’t.

Johnny was lost. That wasn’t the Taeil he knew.

Johnny eventually cleared his throat and nodded. He tried to keep an unreadable face.

“Thank you,” he said, “but I don’t want to waste your time any longer.”

And before the elderly man could say anything, Johnny turned away and walked back to his friends.

He could almost feel Taeil’s gaze on his back, he ignored it as best as he could.

“How did it go?” Jaehyun asked him with a sly smile, which disappeared the minute he saw that Johnny was not smiling back.

“Did he turn you down?” Mark asked innocently.

Johnny gave him a surprised look. Mark should have been too young to understand what “being turned down” meant, and he wondered who told him about this, until he saw how Jaehyun was trying to shush him.

Of course, he should have expected that. Johnny smiled fondly. He couldn’t get mad at his brother, nor his cousin.

“He didn’t,” Johnny eventually answered, “he can’t talk.”

“What do you mean, he can’t talk?” Jaehyun asked, frowning.

“He took a vow of silence.”

Jaehyun looked at him, startled. Next to him, Mark was still confused, as were Yuta and Jaemin.

“What’s a vow of silence,” Jaemin asked his big brother.

Yuta shrugged. Johnny guessed that he was probably not familiar with the Grand Order’s ways, just as he wasn’t until today. He was about to explain it to Jaemin, but, surprisingly, Taeyong was faster:

“It means that Taeil is not allowed to talk until his initiation ceremony is done.”

His voice was clear and soft and Johnny was still not used to it: the last time they had met, years ago, Taeyong was basically mute. However, it did not surprise him as much as the fact that Taeyong seemed to be very aware of what Taeil was going through. When Johnny gave a look to Doyoung, the young noble lowered his gaze. He knew too.

“What happened to him?” Johnny asked, his voice maybe a bit sharper than what he wanted to sound.

Taeyong gave him a surprised look, like he wasn’t expecting Johnny to understand so quickly. But Taeil’s had been Johnny’s friend - best friend almost, as much as living apart could make them. He knew Taeil like he knew his brother, or so he thought. Watching him become a Grand Order’s follower, let alone not speak for the sake of it, he could only guess that something must have happened.

Taeyong, however, seemed to retract under Johnny’s gaze, and he just shook his head. Next to him, Doyoung rolled his eyes and answered.

“Taeil’s family was killed”, he said flatly, “he was the only survivor. After that, Taeil was taken in by the Grand Order.”

Silence fell on their little group. Even Mark didn’t dare to comment on what Doyoung had just said.

Johnny didn’t believe it. How could so many things happen without him being aware of it? Had he been so far away from Taeil that he couldn’t even think about telling him himself? Or even ask for help? Johnny would have flown across the continent on his dragon’s back for the sake to find Taeil and help however he could.

Instead, Taeil had chosen to be silent. 

Johnny felt betrayed.

“Who did it?” Jaehyun asked carefully.

Doyoung seemed unsure of what he was supposed to answer to that. He gave a look to Taeyong who was still looking down, as if he wanted to escape the conversation.

Suddenly, Jungwoo stepped in their circle, and Johnny realized that he had been standing silently behind Taeyong the whole time.

“We don’t know, my father’s investigations didn’t lead to anything,” he quickly explained.

Johnny nodded. The atmosphere was heavy and he could read the discomfort on the younger’s faces. That wasn’t how Johnny had wanted things to go - for the gods’ sake, he had just wanted to greet Taeil, his old friend. Why did everything suddenly feel so dramatic? 

Johnny decided that, as the main protagonist of the day, it was his role to light up the mood. After all, he was the one who brought Taeil’s behaviour in the conversation in the first place.

“Thanks for telling me,” he quickly said to Jungwoo and Doyoung. He had not realized that they had grown up, too. They looked more mature, and next to Taeyong, whom they both supplanted in height, they looked more mature than the young Prince.

Johnny had always thought Taeyong was king of a crybaby when he was younger. Now he just thought of him as weak.

“Anyway,” Johnny eventually said in a lighter tone, “today is my day and I won’t let some weird organisation waste it with its customs! We’re in the Kingdom of Dragons, and here, we know how to have fun!”

Mark and Jaemin’s gaze immediately looked up to him and Johnny smiled. Sure, they were princes, but they were kids first and foremost - just like Johnny was, too, at a time.

“Who wants to ride Orage?” he asked light-heartedly.

Jaemin absolutely ignored Yuta’s scolding when he screamed “Me!” first, but that only made them all smile.

Johnny gave a look to where the Grand Order’s people were still standing, but he didn’t meet Taeil’s gaze this time. Biting his lip, he focused back on the conversation Mark was now having with the others - he apparently wanted to explain to them how to ride a dragon but only using words that didn’t mean what he wanted them to mean.

Johnny was about to correct him on the fact that, no, you couldn’t feed your dragon ice-cream, when his attention was suddenly caught by something.

His father, king Siwon, was discussing with king Leeteuk - except that he seemed very angry. Johnny could see his frown and an expression on his face that he tended to avoid as much as possible. King Siwon was rarely upset, but when he was, he could be terrifying.

King Leeteuk, on the other hand, seemed relaxed, as if the emotion of the man he was facing didn’t matter. His father’s voice was being louder and louder, and soon enough, everyone was turning to them, including Johnny’s friends.

“What’s happening?” whispered Jaemin. No one answered.

Johnny felt Mark coming closer to him and he let him take his hand in his for comfort.

They couldn’t understand what the two kings were discussing yet, but now that all the attention was turned to them, Siwon seemed to realize that he was about to throw a tantrum. He composed himself quickly and, without giving king Leeteuk a smile, he turned to them. 

Johnny shivered. He had never seen his father with such a stern look.

“Jaehyun,” Siwon called, “and prince Taeyong. Please come here.”

All the looks immediately went to them and Johnny watched his friends, he was just as surprised as everyone else. 

Jaehyun’s face had gone pale. Taeyong was still desperately looking at the ground. They both looked like they wanted to be anywhere but here. They didn’t have a choice, however, and they eventually made their way to the kings, walking straight but slow. Johnny wanted to ask his cousin if he knew what was all this about, but it would have been disrespectful to his father to talk now.

When the two young men finally reached their elders, Siwon turned around and scanned the room. It was dead silent. Johnny could feel the atmosphere tensing at every second, and he did not understand why. From the corner of his eye, he saw people starting to gossip already.

Finally, Siwon talked again.

“Jessica,” he called, his voice even colder than when he had called the princes.

Johnny saw his aunt leave the crowd and walk toward her brother. Johnny had always thought that Jessica was a beautiful woman, she had long black hair, and her eyes were warm. There was no hesitation in her steps and she only lowered her gaze when she faced the king, not before. Johnny knew she was a proud woman, and that her relationship with her brother was not the best.

At first, Johnny had thought that Taeyong and Jaehyun had misbehaved, and that Siwon was calling their parents only for them to remind them of their rank. It would have been weird, but not unrealistic.

Siwon turned to the crowd. He looked angry. He  _ was  _ angry, Johnny could feel it. He said:

“King Leeteuk and my dear sister Princess Jessica would like to make an announcement.”

Johnny thought that if he could feel the disappointment in the way his father had called his sister, then everyone could.

King Leeteuk turned around to face the crowd, too. He had a smile on his face, the kind that Johnny didn’t like - he knew he was not allowed to say such things, but he had never really liked King Leeteuk anyway. Leeteuk put a hand on both Taeyong’s and Jaehyun’s shoulder, and Johnny could see his cousin’s distress on his face.

“I am very pleased to announce that my son, Prince Taeyong, is engaged to Prince Jaehyun, in a alliance that has just been approved by King Siwon.”

Johnny watched his father: it didn’t look like he had approved anything. 

“Johnny, did you know?” Yuta asked in a whisper. Johnny turned around to look at him: if he could feel that Siwon was angry from afar, Yuta was currently boiling with rage next to him. Johnny shook his head.

“I didn’t. It's news for me too.”

People were starting to whisper and gossip again, until some eventually started to clap. Most of them were still wondering what was actually going on, as it was clear that this announcement was not planned at all. Johnny should probably have felt angry that  _ his  _ ceremony was ruined, but he was too flabbergasted by the news to react properly.

Jaehyun was barely ten, and Taeyong only one year older, it seemed too young to talk about alliance. Without mentioning the fact that the Seo family members were not supposed to marry outside their own blood, Taeyong and Jaehyun’s relationship had never been good. They barely talked to each other, and Johnny knew that Jaehyun couldn’t stand the other prince - it was like this since they were kids.

So this alliance didn’t make sense for Johnny - until it did. He had to think like a prince, not like a teenager. Taeyong was from a powerful family, and was a crowned prince. It was no surprise that King Leeteuk wanted to marry him to another influential family, to strengthen his power and make a good alliance. But why Jaehyun? If that was power king Leeteuk wanted, he would have asked for Mark’s hand.

Johnny frowned at the idea of his little brother marrying someone. He didn’t have to, for the realm was destined to Johnny’s children, and marriage between nobles was merely to produce an heir. So Jaehyun, even less than Mark, was never going to be a king.

Except that he was. By marrying Taeyong, not only was he going to be king, but he would also share his powers with his husband. Share his dragon.

And then, Johnny understood.

He looked at Jaehyun and Taeyong: they were standing awkwardly next to king Leeteuk, gaze low, both embarrassed and uneasy.

“What’s going on?” Mark suddenly asked, “Why is Jaehyun hyung going to marry Taeyong?”

“Because father wants them to,” Jeno said as if it was obvious.

“But do they?” Mark asked again.

There was a silence.

Johnny thought about something to say. He should probably lie now, and explain later to his little brother what was really going on there, when the others would be gone. But, surprisingly, Doyoung was the one to give an answer:

“They’re princes. It’s not about what they want, it’s about what their kingdom will get from it.”

But what would the Kingdom of Dragons would get from this, Johnny wondered?

  
  


“This is unacceptable! You did this behind my back, Jessica!”

Johnny made himself as small as possible. He didn’t like when his father was shouting, and king Siwon had been like this for the past hours already.

“Oh, let’s not jump to conclusions, shall we? King Leeteuk was the one who suggested the idea, and I thought it would be beneficial for the both of us! I truly thought you would agree!”

Jessica wasn’t smiling anymore either. Johnny used to like family meetings, but at that moment, he wished he could go back to the garden and play with his friends. He had been summoned for this earlier in the morning, which didn’t exactly surprise Johnny after the fuss that the engagement’s announcement had made among everyone. But still. Johnny had not expected his family to fight over this so openly. His father must have been  _ really  _ angry.

“Beneficial? It seems like you forgot what Leeteuk is capable of for the sake of being more powerful,” Siwon warned.

“Do you think he is more cruel than you?” Jessica answered, her tongue as sharp as always.

Johnny didn’t like that. He didn’t like that at all. He loved his family, and watching them fight was not something he was used to. He wished Jaehyun or Mark had been there with him, but he was the only one allowed since he was now an adult, his father had insisted he’d take part in those kinds of meetings too.

“We’re not talking about me right now. We’re talking about how you decided to marry my nephew to the prince of Hviska without asking for my permission!”

“He is  _ my  _ son before being your nephew, Siwon! And I did this for us, not you!”

Johnny didn’t want to be there.

“How can you be so egoistic?!” Siwon shouted, “Do you realize what you did? You gave Leeteuk all the power he needed to fight us, on our own land! Have you even read the terms of the contract before you signed this?” He was holding a piece of paper that Johnny had understood to be the main subject of the discussion since it had started.

“I did,” Jessica answered, more calmly, “and I think they are fair. Leeteuk only wants the dragon for Taeyong’s heir, not for himself. I made sure of that.”

“For the love of the gods, do you hear yourself when you talk?”

Johnny wondered why his father wanted him to come to that meeting. He only felt deeply uncomfortable, it wasn’t like they were asking for his opinion anyway - for what he was actually pretty glad. He wouldn’t have known what to say in such a situation. He still remembered how Jaehyun had been on the verge of tears the whole evening after the announcement. He was sure that his aunt cared about her son’s well-being; he just didn’t think she had actually paid attention to what his well-being included.

For instance, not marrying Taeyong.

But Johnny remembered Doyoung’s words. This… affair had nothing to do with what Jaehyun, nor Taeyong wanted. Johnny was young, but he was considered an adult, and he could already guess that king Leeteuk’s plan was bigger than just a marriage.

“Anyway, it is settled now,” Jessica eventually said.

“You can still back up,” Siwon suggested. He seemed to be calmer, or at least his anger was not as brutal as before.

“That would be considered an affront and you know it.”

Johnny looked at his father, then at his aunt. He always thought that they were very similar, but after the fight they just had, he wondered if they had ever been close. Then Johnny thought about his own little brother: would they fight like this with Mark one day? He hoped not.

“Johnny,” Siwon called.

Johnny almost jumped, surprised.

“Yes, father?”

“I want you to look after your cousin. I know you’re good friends with him already. Now, I want you to be his confidant. You will be the one he’ll tell about what Taeyong asks from him. Can you do that?”

Johnny looked at his father, wondering if he was serious. Was he really asking him to use Jaehyun’s trust to gather information? Johnny felt a shiver go down his spine. He didn’t like that.

When he had been happy to finally become an adult, he didn’t think it would mean that he had to do things like this right away. For a moment, Johnny felt like telling his father that he wasn’t ready, yet. But then his gaze met Siwon’s, and he knew that he couldn’t disappoint him. 

“Yes, father,” he answered.

“Good.”

Johnny saw the look Jessica gave him at this moment, and he couldn’t help but feel terrible.

Adulthood was not as fun as he had expected it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are very appreciated, let us know what you think of this so far!!  
> Find us on twitter: [@minkaa](https://twitter.com/minkaa_art) & [@incospleen](https://twitter.com/incospleen) and on curiouscat: [minkaa](https://curiouscat.me/minkaa_art) & [spleen](https://curiouscat.me/incospleen)! :)


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